


In Sickness or in Health

by liobi



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Somewhat sexual content, Unhealthy Coping, post-season 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-22
Updated: 2014-08-22
Packaged: 2018-02-14 06:14:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2181048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liobi/pseuds/liobi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Asami doesn’t leave her side. Even into the latest hours of the night, she stays beside Korra, watching, guarding. There’s a darkness in her eyes now, lingering behind the depths that everyone else takes as exhaustion, but Asami knows.</p><p>Mako and Bolin say she’ll be fine. Tenzin doesn’t say anything, he just quietly believes that Korra will overcome. She always does.</p><p>Asami knows though.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Sickness or in Health

Asami doesn’t leave her side. Even into the latest hours of the night, she stays beside Korra, watching, guarding. There’s a darkness in her eyes now, lingering behind the depths that everyone else takes as exhaustion, but Asami knows.

Mako and Bolin say she’ll be fine. Tenzin doesn’t say anything, he just quietly believes that Korra will overcome. She always does.

Asami knows though. She knows what it’s like for Korra every night. The crying, the nightmares, waking up screaming and crying, holding on so tight that her nails dig into Asami’s shoulders, leaving bright red gouges down her back. Asami supposes it’s a good thing she always wears long sleeves. 

Korra is strong. Korra has always been strong. That’s what everyone’s problem is, they’ve gotten so used to seeing her as unbeatable, as invincible, as, well, Korra. Now that something is so terribly, utterly wrong, they can’t see past their own preconceptions. 

Asami doesn’t have preconceptions. She comforts Korra every night. She never leaves her side. 

\---

“No!” Korra screams. Her muscles tense and pull, as if she tried to sit up, but the damage from the poison left her weak. Instead she flops slightly on the bed. Asami is already awake, her hand moving to Korra’s cheek. 

“It’s alright.” 

“Amon and… and Zahir and—”

“It was a dream.” She’s drenched in sweat, so Asami pulls back the covers and opens a window. She returns to the bed, pulling Korra to her and stroking her hair. “It’s alright. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

Korra falls asleep against her. Asami’s lost count of how many times this has happened already.

\--

A week later, Korra asks. 

“You what?”

“I… I want to try walking again. I think I can. I just don’t want to try in front of everyone. I want your help.”

Asami agrees. The darkness in Korra’s eyes has started to worry her. She knows that Korra needs to reclaim her own strength; that she won’t get better until that happens. She’s afraid of what Korra might do if she doesn’t get her strength back.

Asami takes her to their room. She locks the door and pushes Korra to one end, offering her a hand. Korra takes it, and begins to stand. She’s barely out of the chair before her legs buckle under her, and she nearly drags Asami down as she falls. 

Korra sits there for a moment, looking as if she’s not quite sure what happened. Then she explodes. 

“Damn it!” She punches the floor. After a second, she swears and punches again. And again. And again. And again. The swearing becomes a mantra as she punches the floor time after time, pain shooting up her hands as blood starts to leak down her fingers. Asami’s arms wrap around her tightly, pulling her fists to her sides. She can’t break free. “Let me go! Let me go! Just let me go!” Her screams turn into sobs halfway through, and any sign of resistance fades as she slumps into Asami’s arms. 

Korra cries for longer than she can remember, and Asami holds her the entire time.

\---

The blood has started drying by the time Korra finishes, and when she looks up into Asami’s eyes she doesn’t see pity like she expected. She sees compassion, admiration, sorrow, and most of all, love. 

She pulls Asami in, and their lips connect. It’s warm, Korra realizes, surprisingly so. As they separate, Asami smiles at her. 

“Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.” 

Asami lifts her into the chair, but this time she doesn’t feel weak. They make their way to the bathhouse, and Asami carefully undresses her before moving her to a bench. They’ve bathed together before, of course. Asami’s been the one helping her the most since the incident, even. But this time it’s different. She carries Korra over to one of the baths, propping her against the wall and letting her legs dangle into the water before getting in herself. 

Asami gently takes a sponge and squeezes it over Korra’s hands. The warm water stings and Korra winces, but Asami is careful and slowly begins to clean her bloodied knuckles. After she finishes with one hand, she moves to the next and repeats the process. When she finishes, her hands linger on Korra’s knuckles. 

She gently pulls Korra’s hand to her mouth, slowly kissing her way from the fingertips up until her lips rest on the healing wounds. Korra’s other hand trails up her shoulder before she buries it in Asami’s thick, dark hair. Asami glances up, smiling mischievously as she bends forward, kissing the inside of Korra’s knee, slowly journeying upwards. 

Korra’s breath catches, the small, soft kisses sending tingles up her thighs into the core of her being. When she glances down, she sees the deep, red gouges that mar Asami’s shoulders. She traces them. “Do they-mmf! Do they hurt?” 

Asami looks up from her warpath up Korra’s thighs, resting her cheek against the girl’s leg. “They sting. It’s not a big deal.”

Flashes of nightmares enter Korra's mind. Amon's mask, Unalaq's voice, Vaatu. Her hands clench against Asami's shoulders. “Sorry.” 

“Hey,” Asami crawls out of the bath, bringing her face level to Korra’s. “You have nothing to apologize for.” She leans in, and they lock lips. It’s gentle at first, but slowly it heats up. There’s a warm, wet feeling on Korra’s lips, and she opens her mouth as Asami’s tongue enters, entangling with her own. Her hands trace Asami's scarred shoulders, and suddenly she needs Asami. Needs her so much she thinks that she might panic. Korra rushes in, teeth gnashing against Asami's, and she bites down. Not hard, but hard enough. Asami's grunt of pain startles her and a salty taste enters her mouth, but when she tries to pull away the other girl pushes her back against the wall.

Asami’s pale hands travel up her thighs to her ass, and she can’t help but gasp a little when Asami digs her fingers in, scratching a little. They break the kiss and Asami makes her way down, licking and planting kisses down Korra’s neck and towards her breasts, little speckles of blood left behind everywhere her lips touched. Korra moans, Asami’s lips hanging just above her nipple, warm breath rushing past and making everything feel so much more sensitive. 

Her tongue flicks, and Korra shivers. Asami’s lips pull back into a smirk as her whole mouth envelopes Korra’s breast, and this time Korra can’t stop the moan that pushes past her lips. Asami detaches as she glances back up at Korra. “Are you already satisfied?” She asks, her fingers lazily tweaking the other nipple. 

“No. And don’t you dare stop.” Asami smirks, and returns to kiss her way down Korra’s abs, the tops of her thighs, and finally between her legs. She doesn’t waste any time, and soon Korra tangles her hands through Asami’s hair again, pulling her closer, deeper. The remnants of the nightmares are still there. The weakness, being helpless, the fear. Korra pulls Asami as close as she can.

Asami can’t help but grin, the tart taste of the Avatar on her tongue. Korra’s moans are so loud that she almost doesn’t hear the gasp behind her. Turning around quickly, she sees two Air Acolytes standing at the door, blushing and openmouthed. 

“We’ll come back!” One of them quickly says, turning around and quickly shutting the door. Asami turns back to Korra to find the girl equally dumbstruck and blushing.

“Let’s uh… Let’s continue this later.” The nightmares subside a little.

Asami snorts. She can’t help it, Korra just looks so cute in that moment. Then the snort turns into full-scale laughter as Korra sputters indignantly. 

\---

Asami doesn’t ever leave her side. Korra’s thankful for that. Asami can still see the darkness in Korra’s eyes, but she knows it’s dimming, especially when Korra looks at her. Her eyes say a million things every time she looks at her, but she never says them out loud. She doesn’t need to.

Asami knows.

**Author's Note:**

> Goddamn, sex is hard to write in third person.


End file.
